West famously declared on the 2005 televised Concert for Hurricane Relief, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," blaming him for the reason that America helps "the less well-off as slow as possible."

When Today's Matt Lauer showed Bush a tape of West's rant, Bush said, "I appreciate that. It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina. I cited him as an example. I cited others as well. I appreciate that."

"I'm not a hater," the former president said. "I didn't hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were saying things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called racist if, in your heart, you believe in equality of race."